Seirei Gensouki ~Konna Sekai de Deaeta Kimi ni~ (LN) - Volume 19 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: One Act Before Trouble

Some time later, in the mountainous outskirts of the Galarc capital...

Orphia, the high elf girl, stood at a location with a fine view several kilometers from the capital of Galtuuk. There was no one else around her; she was moving separately from Miharu and the others in the royal castle in order to set up a destination point for teleportation sorcery.

The first step was to select a location. Barely anyone ever climbed this mountain, but she still had to use spirit arts to stabilize the terrain and secure the area. She put up a perception-blocking barrier and a field to conceal the disorder of magic essence after teleporting. There were a lot of steps, but she was finally done.

“Okay, the spell circle is stable and the barriers are complete... Now, Dissolvo.”

Just like how there were two stone houses, there were two Time-Space Caches. Orphia used hers to take out the teleport crystal she had borrowed from Rio in advance.

The destination registered in the crystal was the spirit folk village. Now that the preparations were complete, she had no need to remain here anymore. She would return to the village to bring Gouki and the others here to Galarc.

With Rio gone to retrieve Liselotte, she wouldn’t be able to bring them to the castle immediately, so they’d have to remain in the stone house until his return. But the original plan was to bring Gouki’s group over as soon as the preparations in Strahl were complete, so Gouki and the others were still waiting for that to happen.

“Instans Motus.” Orphia chanted a spell, activating the teleport crystal. The space around her immediately distorted—a sign of the sorcery activating. Just before she teleported, Orphia glanced over at the capital of Galtuuk. Then, just before the spell completed and moved her to the village, the sight of countless black shapes raining down on the capital caught her eyes.

“Wha...?”

The teleportation completed: what filled Orphia’s view now was the sight of the forest and spring near the spirit folk village. The scenery was extremely peaceful, but...

“What...was that...?”

Orphia’s face stiffened at the sinister omen she’d just witnessed.

“...”

She had a bad feeling about this. Propelled by her intuition, Orphia hurried towards the village.

◇ ◇ ◇

At roughly the same time, in the capital of the Beltrum Kingdom, Celia’s father, Count Roland Claire, was visiting the royal castle. He had been personally summoned by Duke Arbor himself.

“What matters did you wish to discuss today?” Roland asked after they had exchanged curt greetings with each other in a meeting room.

“Negotiations with the Restoration will be held in the near future. The location will be the Galarc Kingdom. I’d like you to attend, Count Claire,” Duke Arbor said, stating his demands simply.

“I see... But why me?” Roland feigned confusion as he sought more information.

After being suspected of assisting Christina out of the castle, he was essentially treated as a spy by Duke Arbor’s faction. There was no concrete evidence to convict him, but he had been relieved of his position in the capital and placed under the watch of a dispatch supervisor while managing the affairs of his territory. He had also been cut off from any news of the capital, so Roland wanted to use this chance to gain as much information as he could.

“You should have a lot of contacts with that side, no?” Duke Arbor said with blunt implication behind his words.

“Haha... I don’t think so.” Roland tried to brush off the question with a shrug.

“Your beloved daughter seems to have settled over there.” Duke Arbor pointed out how Celia, who was supposed to have been kidnapped from the wedding ceremony with Charles, was now a member of the Restoration.

Naturally, Duke Arbor was aware that Celia’s abduction had been arranged by Christina, who felt indebted to her from her academy days and wanted her to join the Restoration. Like the spies in Beltrum working for Duke Huguenot, there were spies in the Restoration working for Duke Arbor and keeping him informed.

“I was also bewildered by that news.” Roland sighed to express his lack of knowledge regarding Celia’s abduction.

Duke Arbor furrowed his brow at the sly reaction. “There’s no mistake that your daughter has settled over there. I have contacts who have seen her in person.”

“So it appears. I will not deny that it seems she has joined the Restoration,” Roland said, implying that he had objections to other accusations.

Duke Arbor looked at Roland with suspicion, but he knew it was futile to make accusations without any evidence—it had been as such since Christina first escaped Beltrum Castle.

He had no intention of digging further into either that or the connection between Roland and the Restoration. Duke Arbor chose to get on with the discussion. “Fine. In which case, it should be clear why your presence is requested.”

“However, I cannot imagine my presence making any difference. Are you saying you want me to attend just for numbers?”

Surely not, Roland implied in his tone as he tried to probe for more information from Duke Arbor.

“That’s right.” Duke Arbor nodded dismissively, preemptively cutting off any questions Roland could lead him towards.

He probably wanted to avoid giving Roland any unnecessary information, but his attitude could also be interpreted as that of a successful veteran soldier who loathed the bothersome tactics of civil officials. At any rate, probing any further against such an attitude would be like stirring the hornet’s nest for Roland.

“I see... I have no reason to refuse, then.”

Considering how unbalanced the relations were between Duke Arbor and Roland, there was no choice but to accept. He’d also be able to hear the state of affairs himself if he attended, so Roland obediently accepted without a fight.

“Then it’s decided. The negotiations will be held in the near future. I will send a messenger to your territory once the date is confirmed. I doubt I need to say this, but keep your schedule open.”

Duke Arbor stood up, indicating the end of their discussion. He made sure to add a snide remark about Roland’s lack of duties in the capital as well. Making Roland travel all the way out to the capital for a message like this was also a clear act of harassment, but Roland showed no particular irritation.

“Understood. I shall take my leave after finishing this cup of tea,” he said, picking up his teacup and sipping it gracefully.

“Hmph.” Duke Arbor snorted in disgust and left the room.

What Duke Arbor fears the most right now is nobles outside of his faction regaining power, but... Roland returned his teacup to its saucer and lost himself in his thoughts.

The Arbor family’s power had definitely lessened after Celia’s abduction from Charles’s wedding and Christina’s escape from the castle.

At the same time, there was a definite lack of anyone who could stand up to the Arbor faction in the present capital. Everyone had either been expelled from the capital and joined the Restoration, or been removed from their positions like Roland and lost power. So while there were signs of the Arbor faction’s decline, with no other force that could oppose them in the capital, their position was as strong as ever. The other nobles that pandered to Duke Arbor also received favorable treatment without Duke Huguenot’s faction around, so they had no reason to risk their positions by stirring things up.

Considering how he’s going to negotiate with the Restoration on equal terms—with me of all people present—he must be rather worried about his son being held hostage. Attending the negotiations is exactly what I wished for. I must use this chance to gain as much information as possible. I may even be able to see my little Celia.

Roland’s expression softened.

Celia... It seems she arrived in Rodania safely, but is she really happy over there? Her happiness...

But at the same time, he felt lonely. His expression became gloomy.

Well, I’m sure I can leave her in Princess Christina’s hands. And with that boy nearby, she should be well protected...

He recalled Rio, who had escorted Christina and Celia to Rodania. He had been worried half to death when Celia was abducted from the wedding, but those emotions had been replaced with true gratitude when he was told the truth of what had happened.

He understood that Celia trusted Rio. And that Celia had feelings for him.

Guh. There’s no doubt that she feels for him...

Now that he had caught on to his beloved daughter’s thoughts, he wanted nothing more than to support her happiness. This was the genuine truth, but a father’s parental love was complex.

What if in my absence, they... I won’t allow it. I definitely won’t allow it... They must marry first with me in attendance, at the very least... No, but there’d be no chance to hold a wedding in this situation... Even so, if he touches her before marriage... Or after marriage... Ah, but I do want to see my grandchildren’s faces. Hm. Hmm...

Roland lost himself to a spiral of negative thoughts. The only thing he could say for certain was—

I won’t forgive him if he makes Celia cry.

That much was simple.

What should I do if he makes her cry...? A demonstration of our family’s secret magic would be required at the very least...

Seriousness aside, Roland cared for Celia more than anyone else. Yet, at this moment, there was no way for him to know about the evil that was approaching his beloved daughter.